Olivia Munn reveals breast cancer diagnosis and surgery
Hollywood actress Olivia Munn has revealed she has undergone surgery and treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
The 43-year-old shared the news with a post on social media alongside photos and video clips taken in hospital.
The mother-of-one told her followers: “I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey.”
In a longer statement, Munn went into detail about her diagnosis and treatment, saying she had been through four operations, including a double mastectomy, and “so many days spent in bed I can’t even count”.
However, she said early diagnosis of Luminal B cancer – “an aggressive, fast-moving cancer” in both breasts – had saved her life.
Munn, who attended the Oscars at the weekend with her partner, comedian John Mulaney, said in her statement she had taken a genetic test for cancer genes in February 2023, but the results were negative for all.
She also had a clear routine mammogram – but was diagnosed with breast cancer two months later.
“I’m lucky,” she wrote. “We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day.”
The US star, who is known for programmes including The Daily Show and The Newsroom, as well as X-Men: Apocalypse, said she had only cried twice since being diagnosed 10 months ago.
“I guess I haven’t felt there was time to cry,” she said. “My focus narrowed and I tabled any emotions that I felt would interfere with my ability to stay clearheaded.”
Munn with her partner John Mulaney at the Oscars. Pic: AP/John Locher
The actress said she had kept the details private until now as “I needed to catch my breath and get through some of the hardest parts before sharing”.
Munn said she had been saved after her doctor decided to check her risk of getting breast cancer – which meant the disease was discovered much earlier than if she had waited for her next routine assessment.
She also thanked the medics who have looked after her, as well as friends and family “for loving me through this”.
The actress further expressed gratitude to Mulaney for his support and for “always placing framed photos of our little boy Malcolm so it would be the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes”.
Munn added: “Thank you to the friends who’ve had breast cancer and the friends who connected me to friends who’ve had breast cancer for guiding me through some of my most uncertain and overwhelming moments.”
Mulaney was one of the thousands of people reacting to her post, replying: “Thank you for fighting so hard to be here for us. Malc and I adore you.”
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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